Learning to Mentor as Praxis: Situating the Conversation

Abstract

This chapter begins with an elaboration of my own reflective research and experiential journey leading to the conceptualization suggested in this book. The sections that follow focus on positioning learning to mentor in relation to extant competing approaches to mentoring and professional learning, with a focus on the praxical and nonpraxical character of each approach. First, I discuss competing approaches and perspectives to mentoring, and their connection to five prevailing views of adult learning: common sense, applied science, philosophical, practical, and critical. I suggest that a particular approach to mentoring aligns with a corresponding view of adult learning and professional knowledge, guiding mentors into idiosyncratic modes of reasoning and behavior. Understanding learning to mentor as an intellectual, cultural, and contextual activity in praxis speaks to reflective and collaborative approaches to mentoring. These are rooted in sociocultural theories of learning, embedding practical and critical views of professional knowledge development. This is explored in detail in the last section of this chapter.